The existing network servers usually provide new data that may generated periodically, such as serial novels, serial video, etc. A client terminal that subscribes the data needs to periodically check the data update progress of the server, downloads the new data based on the checking result, and automatically updates the data of the client terminal. As such, the data update progresses of the client terminal and the server can be synchronized, so that the latest data can be ensured to be available to the user of the client terminal.
Generally, when an update check period is reached, the client terminal can periodically send an update query request to the server to determine whether the server has new data with respect to the downloaded data in the client terminal. If there is new data in the server, the client terminal can download the new data. For example, a serial novel B in a client terminal A has been downloaded up to Chapter 10. When A arrives at a preset update check period, A can send an update query about B to check whether there is any new chapter of B after Chapter 10 in the server. If B is updated to Chapter 12 in the server, A can download data of Chapters 11 through 12 of B. As such, an automatic data update progress of serial novel B can be realized in client terminal A.
In the existing data update process, an update check period of a client terminal can be a system default value, or can be manually set by a user. Generally, when the update check period is reached, the client terminal performs a date update check for all target data having a same type. For example, a novel reading software can set a unified update check period for all subscribes serial novels. As another example, a video playback software can a unified update check period for all subscribes serial video.
However, an update check period of a server may not be a fixed period. That is, each time when new data is added to the server, the server can have different time interval. For example, different serial novels can have different updating speed. As another example, for a same serial novel, each update may take different time interval based on the author's input. Therefore, the update check period of a client terminal may be hard to match the update check period of the server.
If the update check period of the client terminal is longer than the update check period of the server, the user may not use the new data in time. On the contrary, in order to ensure that the user can use the new data in time, the update check period of the client terminal should be set as short as possible. In this case, update query requests are frequently sent from the client terminal to the server, which not only may increase the request responding pressure of the serve, but also may increase the consumption of the network traffic.
Especially, when a client terminal deals with a variety of data to be synchronized, such as multiple serial novels and/or serial video, the consumption of the network traffic can be huge, and the client terminal's data update workload can also be heavy. Therefore, it is desired to have a new method for checking and updating data on a client terminal, which can have lighter data update workload, and consume less network traffic.
The disclosed method and apparatus are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.